The Social Security Fairness Act is making its way through Congress, and it may still have a chance to pass the Senate by the end of the year. The bill, which easily passed through the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, aims to repeal two provisions that are reducing Social Security benefits for millions of Americans.
The provisions targeted by the bill are the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). The WEP formula adjusts Social Security benefits for individuals who have worked in both covered and non-covered employment. Non-covered pensions are those paid by employers who don’t withhold Social Security taxes, such as state and local governments or non-U.S. employers. The GPO affects Social Security spousal and widow(er) benefits for people who also receive non-covered pensions.
Having already passed the House, the bill now needs Senate approval to move forward to President Biden’s desk for signing into law. If the bill passes, approximately 2.8 million people would see an increase in their Social Security benefits. While the bill has gained significant support in the Senate, it needs at least 60 votes to pass.
The bill garnered 62 cosponsors last year, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has begun the process to push it through. Schumer emphasized the importance of ensuring that Americans are not denied their well-earned benefits simply because they worked in public service jobs at some point in their careers.
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However, there are concerns about the cost of the bill. GOP Senator Mike Braun of Indiana, who supported similar legislation last year, has expressed hesitations about the new version of the bill. He cited concerns about increasing federal debt and the potential impact on Social Security’s already strained trust funds. According to the Congressional Budget Office, repealing the WEP and GPO would add an estimated $195 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years, potentially shortening the life of the program by about six months.
Despite the financial concerns, the potential cost of the bill remains relatively small compared to the broader issue of Social Security’s future. If the program goes bankrupt, it would still be able to pay only about 79% of scheduled benefits, which could reduce lifetime benefits for a typical dual-income couple by $25,000 by 2033.
While many conservatives, including Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, have criticized the bill on cost grounds, others, like Senator John Thune of South Dakota, have acknowledged the bipartisan support for the legislation but want to see it addressed within a larger Social Security reform effort. Some Republicans, such as Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, have pushed for a vote, emphasizing that the current provisions unfairly penalize public service workers, such as teachers, police officers, and firefighters, who served their communities.
As the deadline for the Senate vote approaches, the fate of the Social Security Fairness Act remains uncertain, with ongoing debates about its impact on the program’s finances and the people it aims to help.
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